Firefighters regularly enter burning buildings to rescue persons and to protect property. These buildings usually contain large quantities of smoke and/or other gaseous toxic substances. In order to protect the firefighters from such harmful substances, portable breathing devices have been developed. Typically, these breathing devices comprise a high pressure metallic cylinder, a backpack for mounting the cylinder, a first stage regulator attached to the cylinder, a low pressure hose and a second stage regulator attached to a mouth piece. Devices such as this are relatively heavy and bulky. Such systems are potentially dangerous for the firefighter as they can easily snag on building features found in burning and collapsing structures. Further, because of the use of traditional metallic pressure cylinders, such breathing packs are quite heavy, causing undue fatigue to firefighters. Even worse, such pressure cylinders can explode if subjected to excessive heat, should their overpressure safety devices fail. Current designs for firefighter breathing packs are also rigid and uncomfortable for the firefighter to wear as they do not conform to the back of the firefighter. A variety of designs for firefighter packs and the pressure vessels that they require have been developed to address these issues.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,094, issued to Chornyj, is directed to a breathing apparatus and pressure vessels therefore. The apparatus is a self-contained vest that is worn by a user and has pressurized cylinders or flasks of breathable air distributed around the garment. The vest may be utilized in a number of situations, including firefighting, or in other hazardous environments where emergency air supply is required. The vest uses a series of interconnected high pressure vessels which are made of a carbon fiber epoxy with a rubber or nylon coating on their inner surface, and a rubber or nylon coating on their outer surface. In order to strengthen the vessels, an over-wrapped layer may be wound around the cord that is made of a carbon composite thread such as Kevlar®. The vessel may be contained within a bag that is made of braided stainless steel cable to resemble a fish net. The vest includes a series of vessels which are interconnected with a series of first stage regulators and hoses that connect to a second stage-regulator on the vest front. The vest may be made of a fire resistant material so that the device may be used in a firefighting clothing situation. High pressure cylinders or flasks are contained within pockets on the vest garment but the design of the device maintains flexibility to provide comfort and ease of use for the user. A combination high-pressure shut-off valve and first stage regulator with a low pressure valve are attached to each cylinder or flask.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,522, issued to Izuchukwu et al. is directed to a wearable storage system for pressurized fluids. The pressure vessel is formed from a plurality of polymeric hollow chambers of varying shapes and interconnected by conduit sections between the chambers. The pressure vessels are reinforced by a filament wrapping. A fluid transfer control system is attached to the vessels for controlling the flow thereof. The entire system is incorporated into a wearable garment so that the device is portable and capable of supplying the necessary gas for a patient or other user. An example chamber is depicted as a shell which is molded of a synthetic plastic material that may be welded to another shell by means of an ultrasonic welding device or a radio frequency energy device. The exterior of the shells are wrapped with pressure resistant filaments with a protective synthetic plastic coating that also may be applied. The shells may be either blow molded or injection molded, and various materials such as Teflon or fluorinated ethylene may be used. The pressure resistant filaments may be made of a carbon fiber such as Kevlar®. The inlet of the tubular core may be fitted with a suitable threaded male fitting, whereas the rear end of the core may be provided with a threaded fitting in order to close off the end. These fittings may also be used to incorporate valves or gages. Individual chambers are pneumatically interconnected by means of conduit sections of varying lengths.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,399, issued to Scholley is directed to a flexible container for use with compressed gases, and may be utilized in the form of a garment worn by the user such as a firefighter. The system described provides additional examples of a breathing apparatus for compressed gases and include examples of a pressure regulator, a demand flow regulator, and the use of fiber braids or windings. This reference is directed to a flexible container for use with compressed gases and may be utilized in the form of a garment worn by the user such as a firefighter. The system described in this patent provides additional examples of a breathing apparatus for compressed gases and include examples of a pressure regulator, a demand flow regulator, and the use of fiber braids or windings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,405, issued to Arnoth is directed to an emergency respiration apparatus and is simply a lightweight self-contained unit that supplies pressurized breathable gas to be incorporated into a vest or other garment for use in hazardous work areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,199, issued to Garofalo is directed to a multiple distributor for low-pressure uses to be incorporated into equipment such as a self-contained breathing apparatus. The distributor is connected to a first-stage pressure reducer of the cylinder and fastened or incorporated into a jacket.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a compact, articulated portable breathing system for use by firefighters. It is a further objective to provide such a system that is light weight and conforms to the back of the firefighter. It is a still further objective of the invention to use polymeric pressure vessels that will not explode when exposed to heat. It is yet a further objective to provide pressure vessels that will dissipate pressure in a controlled manner. It is another objective of the present invention to provide a vessel manifold that conforms to the firefighter's back for maximum comfort. Finally, it is an objective to provide a system that can be rapidly filled, is durable, and is inexpensive to produce.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.